Electronic Trolley Lock System

Abstract

An electronic trolley lock system and a method for providing trolley service based on a request of a registered user intending to use a trolley enabled with an electronic trolley lock device. The method and system can enable tracking of trolley use and locating abandoned trolleys. The system can also enable performing a transaction when a trolley is unlocked and performing a reverse transaction on return of the trolley by a registered user.

1 . An electronic trolley system comprising:
 a communication network connected system controller; and   a plurality of electronic trolley tracking devices, each one of the plurality of electronic trolley tracking devices configured for installation on a trolley,   each electronic trolley tracking device comprising:
 a tracking module configured to monitor movement and location of the trolley; 
 a wireless communication module; and 
 a device controller, comprising a processor and memory, 
 the device controller being configured to transmit trolley data to the system controller via the communication module, 
 and 
   the system controller comprising:
 memory storing, for each of the plurality of electronic trolley tracking devices associated with trolleys, one or more data elements; and
 processing resources programmed with instructions executable to implement a communication control module configured to control communication with at least one of each of the electronic trolley tracking devices via the communication network; and 
 user devices via the communication network; 
 and 
 
 a trolley monitoring module configured to monitor location of a plurality of individual trolleys based on trolley tracking data. 
   
     
     
         2 . The electronic trolley system according to  claim 1 , wherein the tracking module comprises:
 a location tracking module, comprising at least one of:
 a global positioning system module; 
 an indoor positioning system module; and 
 a cellular network-based positioning module; 
   and   a movement tracking module, comprising at least one of:
 an accelerometer sensor module; 
 an infrared sensor module; 
 a vibration sensors module; 
 a magnetometer sensor module; and 
 a gyroscope sensor module. 
   
     
     
         3 . The electronic trolley system according to  claim 2 , wherein each electronic trolley tracking device functions in at least one or more operating states, comprising:
 a returned state, wherein the trolley is detected to be returned at an authorized trolley holding area;   an abandoned state, wherein the trolley is detected to be abandoned at an unwanted trolley holding area;   a sleep state, wherein the electronic trolley tracking device of the trolley is working with limited functionality of the device; and   a switch off state, wherein the electronic trolley tracking device of the trolley is in switch off state.   
     
     
         4 . The electronic trolley system according to  claim 3 , wherein the abandoned state is detected based on tracking data received from the tracking module. 
     
     
         5 . The electronic trolley system according to  claim 4 , wherein the abandoned state is detected based on tracking data received from the tracking module and status of a timer associated with the trolley tracking device. 
     
     
         6 . The electronic trolley system according to  claim 3 , wherein the electronic trolley tracking device further comprises an electronically activated lock associated with the trolley, to when locked inhibit use of the trolley and when unlocked allow use of the trolley,. 
     
     
         7 . The electronic trolley system according to  claim 6 , wherein the device controller is further configured to:
 in response to receiving an unlock request via the wireless communication module, unlock the electronically activated lock.   
     
     
         8 . The electronic trolley system according to  claim 7 , wherein the system controller further comprises an authentication module, and wherein the memory further stores registered user information, and the processing resources are further programmed with instructions executable to implement a communication control module configured to control communication with user devices associated with registered users via the communication network, and
 wherein the authentication module is configured to:   associate a registered user with an electronic trolley tracking device of a trolley currently in use by the registered user based on trolley data received via the communication module, and store the association in memory.   
     
     
         9 . The electronic trolley system according to  claim 8 , wherein each electronic trolley tracking device further functions in operating states, comprising:
 a locked state, wherein the electronically activated lock associated with the electronic trolley tracking device is locked, thereby inhibiting use of the trolley; and   an unlocked state, wherein the electronically activated lock associated with the electronic trolley tracking device is unlocked, thereby allowing use of the trolley.   
     
     
         10 . The electronic trolley system according to  claim 9 , wherein trolley data is transmitted to the system controller in response to unlocking of the electronically activated lock including unlock confirmation, and the unlock confirmation includes user information and trolley information. 
     
     
         11 . The electronic trolley system according to  claim 10 , wherein the associating a registered user with an electronic trolley tracking device is performed in response to receiving the unlock confirmation, from the electronic trolley tracking device. 
     
     
         12 . The electronic trolley system according  claim 11 , wherein the authentication module is further configured to monitor the state of a trolley while associated with a registered user based on the trolley data received from the electronic trolley tracking device. 
     
     
         13 . The electronic trolley system according to  claim 12 , wherein the authentication module further configured to do any one or more of:
 disassociate a registered user already associated with an electronic trolley tracking device of a trolley, and store the disassociation in memory, in response to detecting the trolley in a returned state;   for each association of a registered user with an electronic trolley tracking device, determine use permission for the trolley by the registered user based on authorization criteria and account status of the registered user;   perform a transaction on the user account associated with the registered user based on the determined permitted use, wherein the transaction is performed by deducting a first token from the user account associated with the registered user; and   perform a reverse transaction by allocating a second token to the user account associated with the registered user in response to detecting operating state of the electronic trolley tracking device from an unlocked state to a returned state.   
     
     
         14 . The electronic trolley system according to  claim 4 , wherein the device controller of each of the electronic trolley tracking device further configured to send abandonment alert notification to the system controller in response to detecting change in operating state to an abandoned state. 
     
     
         15 . The electronic trolley system according to  claim 4 , wherein one or more of electronic trolley tracking devices from the plurality of electronic trolley tracking devices further comprises a battery unit to power one or more components of the electronic trolley tracking device. 
     
     
         16 . The electronic trolley system according to  claim 9 , wherein the trolley data comprises:
 trolley information comprising at least one of: trolley usage information, trolley location information, trolley movement information, store information, operating state, unlock confirmation, trolley identification number, connectivity type, trolley battery status and type of trolley; and   where the trolley is in use, user information comprising at least one of: user ID, user fingerprint information and user account information of the registered user.   
     
     
         17 . The electronic trolley system according to  claim 1 , wherein the user device is a portable unit, comprising: 
       a portable unit memory to store user information;
 a transmitter configured to at least one of:
 transmit the user information to the wireless communication module of the electronic trolley tracking device; and 
 transmit trolley data information including the user information to the communication control module of the system controller. 
 
 
     
     
         18 . The electronic trolley system according to  claim 9 , wherein associating a registered user with the electronic trolley tracking device and store the association in memory, is preceded by:
 receiving trolley data by the system controller from at least one of the user device or the electronic trolley tracking device;   authenticating the trolley data;   sending by the system controller an unlock request to the electronic trolley tracking device; and   receiving by the system controller, the trolley data including the unlock confirmation from the electronic trolley tracking device.   
     
     
         19 . The electronic trolley system according to  claim 18 , wherein trolley data for transmission to the system controller is generated by the electronic trolley tracking device,
 in response to detecting at least one of:
 a tap event using at least one, a passive NFC tag and a passive RFID tag on the electronic trolley tracking device; 
 a tap event using at least one a device with NFC capability and a device with RFID capability on the electronic trolley tracking device; 
 one or more user commands from a device with Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) capability in vicinity to the electronic trolley tracking device; and 
 one or more user commands from a device with LoRaWAN (Long Range Wide Area Network) capability and in vicinity of the electronic trolley tracking device. 
   
     
     
         20 . The electronic trolley system according to  claim 18 , wherein the trolley data for transmission to the system controller is generated by the electronic trolley tracking device, in response to detecting scanning of a visual code associated with the trolley or an electronic trolley tracking device associated with the trolley by the user device to determine trolley information. 
     
     
         21 . The electronic trolley system according to  claim 20 , wherein the visual code is at least one of a QR code and a bar code, wherein the QR code and the bar code stores encrypted identification information corresponding to the electronic trolley tracking device. 
     
     
         22 . The electronic trolley system according to  claim 9 , wherein the electronic trolley tracking device further comprises a relocking module, configured to relock the electronically activated lock in response to detecting change in operating state to returning state. 
     
     
         23 . The electronic trolley system according  claim 1 , wherein the wireless communication module of the electronic trolley tracking device comprises at least one of:
 one or more Near Field Communication (NFC) active tags;   one or more Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) active tags;   one or more BLE modules;   one or more LoRaWAN (Long Range) modules;   one or more SIM card slots;   one or more Wi-Fi modules;   one or more infrared modules; and   one or more IOT based communication modules.   
     
     
         24 . The electronic trolley system according to  claim 9 , wherein a charging cable is fitted together with a locking cable, to facilitate both charging and locking functionality simultaneously when the trolley is in a returned state and connected to the charging source. 
     
     
         25 . A method for providing trolley service using a plurality of trolleys each enabled with an electronic trolley tracking device, the method comprising, for each trolley:
 receiving by a system controller a trolley data signal including trolley data identifying the trolley, and indicating location of the trolley;   monitoring at least one of movement and location of the trolley;   and   determining a current operating state for the trolley, wherein trolley operating states include:
 a returned state, wherein the trolley is detected to be returned at an authorized trolley holding area; 
 abandoned state, wherein the trolley is detected to be abandoned at an unwanted trolley holding area; 
 a sleep state, wherein the electronic trolley tracking device of the trolley is working with limited functionality of the device; and 
 a switch off state, wherein the electronic trolley tracking device of the trolley is in switch off state. 
   
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the trolley tracking device includes a lock device, and further comprising the steps of:
  receiving by the system controller a signal indicating a request by a registered user to use a trolley; authentication of the request by the system controller, and   if authorized,   sending, by the system controller, unlocking request instructions to an electronic trolley tracking device associated with the trolley; and   in response to the unlock instruction,   unlocking by the electronic trolley tracking device, an electronically activated lock associated with the trolley.   
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 26 , further comprising: associating the registered user with the electronic trolley tracking device of the trolley currently in use by the registered user based on the trolley data and storing the association in memory, and disassociating a registered user already associated with the electronic trolley tracking device of the trolley, and storing the disassociation in memory, in response to detecting the trolley in a returned state.